Mnangagwa wants POLAD, Chamisa TA, Mliswa GNR - all to legitimize Zanu PF whilst we suffer N Garikai

Chaos and confusion is when one says this, the second says that and the third says something else which is neither this nor that and all three are talking nonsense! It is bad enough when it is the ordinary people who are confused it is a serious matter when it is those in positions of power and authority whose decisions affect us all!

Zimbabwe is in a serious economic and political mess right now. The national economic is in total meltdown 2/4 of the population are living in abject poverty and many are dying for want of US$5 of medicine. The economic situation is unsustainable and the nation’s political leaders have no clue what to do.

President Mnangagwa has his 30 member strong cabinet, 2/3 majority in parliament and senate to chart the way forward. If he should need any back-up, he can call upon Mugabe’s old cabinet members, permanent secretaries, etc. whom he has put out to pasture on their full salaries and allowance. And, if he still needs help, he has appointed a 24 member President Advisory Council including luminaries such as Trevor Ncube. 

Sadly, 8 months since the new government took office it is clear the country’s economic problems are getting worse and not better. President Mnangagwa has proposed the formation of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) forum comprising all the 23 presidential candidates in last year’s elections plus other selected stakeholders. The forum will be tasked to formulate solutions to end the economic turmoil. 

Most of the other opposition leaders have agreed to join Mnangagwa’s dialogue forum; Chamisa has refused because he was a Transition Authority (TA) in which he and a some of his MDC A leaders will be given cabinet positions. 

The TA is just a watered down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU in which MDC members a tiny minority in cabinet, parliament and senate and therefore will never implement the democratic reforms the nation has been dying for! 

Not one to accept being left out Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa has come up with his own proposal. "What the country needs isn't GNU but a Govt of National Reconstruction (GNR). Admittedly Zimbabwe has suffered over decades, so no matter the vision one has, you can't begin to tackle the challenges without a team of competent, passionate Zimbabweans the world over with focus on Zimbabwe first."Mliswa proposed. 

Mliswa added that Mnangagwa must appoint members of that government from other places other than ZANU PF. 

"This team with all its expertise will then "reconstruct" the country. Without this we aren't going anywhere Mnangagwa needs to be very strategic on appointing such a team. He's given his Party a chance & now it's time to give the Nation a chance.”

So the emerging consensus is that the nation needs a body of persons; let us put to one side what name to give it after all GNU, POLAD, TA, GNR, etc. is all semantics; to chart the nation’s way out of this mess. The other emerging consensus is that President Mnangagwa will president over the appointment of the individual members in this body. 

The question that must be answered is; what is there to suggest that Mnangagwa is competent to select the individuals? 

It must be remember here that he is the one who selected the 30 member cabinet, selected the 2/3 Zanu PF majority in parliament and senate by rigged last year’s elections, kept the Mugabe deadwood cabinet and appointed the 24 member PAC and they have all without exception proven to be utterly useless. This POLAD, GNR or whatever name it is given will be a waste of the nation’s time, energy and treasure.

All the solutions proffered above have one thing in common; they all seek to legitimacy Mnangagwa and Zanu PF and allow the regime to remain in office till 2023 elections. If Zanu PF is still in power in 2023, the party will see to it that no meaningful reforms ever see the light of day and Zanu PF will rig the elections.   

In the worsening economic meltdown, Zimbabwe is facing a real, serious and urgent existential threat, the country does not have the time, energy and treasure to waste on gimmick solutions. The only viable solution is for Zanu PF to step down; the party rigged last July’s elections and is, ipso facto illegitimate and should not even be in power. 

Zimbabwe needs to suspend the illegitimate and dysfunctional Zanu PF presidency, parliament, etc. to create the space for the appointment of interim administration; as happened following the rigged 2008 elections to create the GNU. 

Whilst both Zanu PF and MDC leaders were allowed to play leading roles in the GNU they will be expressly excluded from holding an office in the interim administration. They failed to implement even one reform last time and, since reforms are still the number one priority, we must not risk that happening again.  

The principle challenge right now is that Zanu PF is illegitimate and must step down and those seeking to appease Mnangagwa by offering excuses to hang on are undermining the efforts of those demanding he steps down. As for how or who will select the members of the interim administration that is a minor issue that can easily be settled in one afternoon. International organisation like the UN can step in to advise and even supply the supporting staff. 

The Zanu PF dictatorship has failed to end the country’s economic meltdown and instead of dismantling the dictatorship these people are creating POLAD, TA, etc to prop up the dictatorship and the Zanu PF regime. We know democracy will produce good and competent government and after 39 years of messing about trying to make the failed dictatorship work, we must now bite the bullet and dismantle it are replace it with democratic institutions.

Mnangagwa rigged last July’s elections, he is illegitimate and must go; that is no negotiable.